Check out Cal rugby at St. Mary’s

If I didn’t have football duties this weekend in Pasadena, I’d be at St. Mary’s College for the California 7’s rugby tournament, featuring the seven-a-side version of the game that will debut in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Rugby sevens is a faster, more wide open version of the game compared to the full 15-man game with its rugged contact. It’s like seven-man football.

At St. Mary’s, Cal will face such familiar 15-man opponents as San Diego State, Cal Poly, UC Davis and the host Gaels. The Bears finished second to Utah in 2010 in the inagural national sevens championship. With sevens now accorded Olympic status, it behooves rugby-playing colleges to take up this version of the game in order to increase the country’s pool of talent.

“We are pretty green in the sevens game,” Cal coach Jack Clark said. “No doubt we have very good potential but similar to most university teams, we are new to fitting sevens into our annual training and competition plans.”

Rugby sevens is finding a place on the fall calendar, while the spring is given over to the traditional 15-man version of the games.